Laura Loomer Slams Pentagon Strikes on Venezuelan Drug Boats, Says Fentanyl Origins Are Elsewhere

MAGA activist and senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, Laura Loomer, publicly criticized recent U.S. military airstrikes against vessels linked to Venezuela, arguing that the campaign is targeting the wrong sources of drugs entering the United States.

In a post on X, Loomer said she supports the administration’s aim to stop deadly drugs but questioned whether the Department of Defense is focusing on the most effective targets. She pointed to data indicating only a small share of U.S.-bound narcotics comes directly from Venezuela.

“What’s really interesting about the strikes in Venezuela is the fact that only 8% of the drug supply that comes into the US is coming from Venezuela. Most of it is cocaine,”

Loomer emphasized that the most lethal shipments—especially fentanyl tied to overdose deaths—largely transit through and are manufactured in Mexico, often using precursor chemicals sourced from China. She argued U.S. efforts would be better directed at Mexican cartels or at disrupting chemical supply chains abroad.

“I have no sympathy for narcoterrorists being killed. It’s just worth noting that over 90% of the drug supply coming into the US is coming in from Mexico, especially the fentanyl. Fentanyl isn’t being manufactured in Venezuela,”

Loomer also asked why U.S. forces had not targeted cartel leadership in Mexico or focused on chemical suppliers in China, writing, “It makes me wonder why this hasn’t been done… surely the @DeptofWar knows where all of the Mexican drug lords live.”

Her comments arrive amid broader controversy over the administration’s strike campaign against vessels allegedly linked to Venezuelan drug networks. A Washington Post report alleged a September 2 “double-tap” airstrike was carried out to follow a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “kill every individual on board.”

Admiral Frank Bradley, who oversaw the disputed operation, told lawmakers the targeted boat was not bound for the United States. Media reports say some of the vessels struck were not transporting drugs destined for American consumers. Since early September, the strikes have been reported to have killed more than 80 people, fueling legal and ethical questions about the campaign’s rules of engagement and targets.

Both President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have defended the strikes as efforts to disrupt narcotics trafficking. After a November strike, Hegseth wrote that vessel strikes will continue until the flow of deadly drugs stops and warned traffickers they would face lethal consequences if they persisted.

“As we’ve said before, vessel strikes on narco-terrorists will continue until their the poisoning of the American people stops…To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs — we will kill you,”

The debate highlights competing views on the best strategy to combat the fentanyl crisis: direct military action against suspected smuggling vessels, broader disruption of transnational supply chains, or intensified law enforcement and international cooperation targeting cartels and precursor chemical suppliers.